On most models of router you'll find the reset button on the back, it will be small button that is recessed into the the back of the router, so that you'll need to use a pen or very small screwdriver (I normally use a jewelers screwdriver myself) to push it in.   On most models of router if you push it in and hold in for anywhere from 10-30 seconds the router will reset.

Some routers have a default login/password (you can usually find these on the manufacturers website) many of the newer ones have a default login (usually admin or administrator) with no password set until you set it.

Most likely your internet connection uses DHCP - meaning that the router will set itself up and you won't have to enter any IP addresses, however it is possible your internet connection actually uses hardwired IP addresses, though this is becoming less and less common these days.

In that event your IP provider should be able to walk you through setting the router up properly over the phone.

Once you get your router reset then it's just a matter of waiting till the new dell arrives, once it does plug it into the router and you'll be able to easily transfer files back and forth between the two machines.

All you'll need to do is setup Windows file sharing and then copy the files over, I can give you step by step instructions on how this is done if you can't find adequate instructions on the internet.

Since you have a router already you might wish to consider keeping your older computer plugged into the router and using a KVM switch - that's what I do here.   I have an older system that runs many of my more routine maintence tasks and acts as a file server for my network.

It keeps the load on my main system to a minimum and allows me to get a great deal more done, particularly when I'm working with bigger renders or animations.  I can setup an animation or large render on my primary system, switch the KVM so that my keyboard, mouse and monitor connect to the secondary machine, and surf the web, do email, etc while waiting for the render to finish without bogging down the primary system. 

Works like a charm.

Unfortunately computers are a lot like cars, everyone has their own individual preferences, likes and dislikes and as such everyone will have different recommendations.

Yes, it is true you can generally save a small amount of money shopping online and assembling the pieces yourself, however in the long run this savings can be easily offset by something as simple as memory incompatiblity or a hardware failure of some sort.

It's true that you can still get these parts replaced under the 1 year manufacturers warranty, however if you buy the parts seperately that means you have to pull the part out, ship it to the online retailer or wholesaler you bought it from, have them ship you a replacement and then install it yourself.  Also when purchased seperately processors are not warranted against heat damage or poor installation, so if the company your dealing with says the damage was caused by overheating your in a world of hurt, they won't replace the processor for you. 

For the more technically oriented the small savings you get for shopping online might make that attractive, however for the average user it is generally a lot easier and a lot less expensive in the long run to have a store front that you can simply drive too, drop the system off and have them deal with all of that should any problems arise.

It is true that if you price the components individually you will be able to get much better deals online than you can at a storefront, however if you buy a pre-built bundled system the prices are going to be hard to beat, particularly if you have to pay someone else to assemble the hardware.  Best Buy can generally sell systems cheaper than most other shops can assemble them because of their vast purchasing power, they get much better prices on systems than most other retailers/wholesalers.

As for Emachines or HP's, I've worked extensively with both, as well as Dell's and of course just about every type of clone archeticture known to man, I've been in the IT industry for over 20 years now.  In truth I've found very little difference in the systems themselves other than upgradeability, and considering your budget, the type of system you're looking for I still say your best bet will most likely be to buy a machine bundle rather than individual components, merely from the warranty and return aspect.  I've installed literally thousands of Emachines over the last several years, I have yet to have a major problem with any of them.  Truth be told their track record in this regard is slightly better than HP or Dell, though HP machines are a bit "prettier" to look at.

Just my two cents worth, naturally opinions will vary but that is my recommendation.

Ok, probably a bit late in coming here but I have a few recommendations in this regard.  Considering your budget and application I would probably recommend you take a good look at some of the higher end machines available from Best Buy in Canada.

Best Buy sells mostly HP and Emachines, and while you hear a lot of people scoff at emachines truth be told I've worked with them for several years and I can tell you from experience they build a nice, solid, stable system.

Although for graphics work I generally recommend the AMD processors with the 64 bit bus, considering your dislike for AMD (and yes, some of their earlier model processors were a bit twitchy) you can probably find what your looking for with a true intel processor in your price range.

I would recommend you purchase everything at once, including the memory upgrade, all as one bundle, that way everything will be covered under the store's warranty.  While you can get more bang for your buck if you consider a refurb, since your not a "techy" type your probably better off sticking with a bundled system with the full warranty, that way if you do have any problems at all you can take it back to Best Buy and have them fix it for you.

Do not, however, purchase the "extended" warranty as these are buy and large a waste of money.  If your system is up and running for at least 48 hours after you get it home odds are very, very good that the hardware will last longer than the useful life of the computer.  In fact I still have an old 2001 series PET here at the house, featuring 16k of internal memory and a basic operating system, all the programs are loaded from tape drive because it was built in an era before hard drives existed.  The thing still runs like a champ - despite the fact it is in computer terms a real antique, one of the very first PC's available on the home market.

Oh, and as a disclaimer, no I do not nor have I ever worked for Best Buy, I merely recommend them for most PC purchases for home users because they can bundle a quality system cheaper than most shops can build one simply because they have purchasing power that most other vendors can only imagine.

So unless your looking for a top of the line custom built system odds are pretty good Best Buy will give you the most bang for your buck, even if your bucks are in Canadian dollars.  The only caveat I give in dealing with the folks at best buy is that you have a good idea what your looking for when you walk through the door - the knowledge of their sales people varies greatly and you often get the guy who really has little to no idea what he's talking about so his recommendations can often be less than exemplary.  

As to my recommendations for your system, with your budget I'd recommend you look for something dual core in the 3 ghz + range,  have them upgrade it to at least 2-3gig of ram, and something with at least 100 gb of drive space.

It's easy enough to add more drive space later if necessary, for example I recently purchased a 300 gb external USB drive for my network for $130 USD, and it comes in quite handy.   

You will want a DVD burner of course, but really when you get into the type of machine your talking about above almost all of them will come with a dual layer DVD burner already.  If you can get a good bundle deal on the monitor I'd probably take it, but I generally don't recommend you purchase a printer with that bundle - most of the printers you get with bundled systems aren't worth much once the original ink cartridges go dry, in fact in most cases you can buy a new printer cheaper than; you can buy the replacement ink cartridges.

Hope that helps.

Quote - As I ponder the age of my recent departed relative (exited this world at 97 years of age), I get the sense that a good proportion of the actively posting members here in this forum tend to be older folk, not the younger crowd.  This conclusion made judging from references made in posts, covering film, literature and other 20-Century popular culture icons.  Let's put the cut-off point as 25 years, say.  I'm definitely older than 25.

Let's put it this way, I have socks that are older than that.

Lol..

I don't normally recommend a laptop unless you really need the portability, in you can get a lot more for your money with a desktop and  unless you really need the portability they really are your best bet.

I'm sorry to hear about your experiences with Dell, but you are quite correct about the lawsuit, it would most likely be an inordinate waste of time and money.  First thing Dell would most likely do is pay to have the case moved out of small claims court, and then they would most likely tie it up in litigation for years.   They have the legal staff that they can afford to do that sort of thing, and by the time it's all said and done you'll end up spending 10-12 times in legal fees any judgement you might be able to get against them.

However there is another route you might wish to consider, while companies like Dell generally don't respond well to legal pressure, often times they will respond to another form of pressure, namely bad publicity.  I would contact someone at Dell, not someone in their tech department but rather someone in their customer service area and ask to speak to a manager.

Explain your situation and tell them how dissapointed you are in their product.  They will begin with your average song and dance - but don't be dissauded.  Let them know that you expect them to do something about your laptop, and if they refuse you mention that one of the avenues open to you is to contact a local television station and having them do an investigative report.  Ask the person your speaking with for their full name so you can give it to the TV station, and let them know why your asking.

Be polite at all times and always use phrases like "I know you didn't do this" or "I realize this isn't your fault" - but be resolute.  Someone there at Dell has the authority to fix this situation, and you want to speak to that person, and your not going to give up until you do.   The key is not to make it personal, you know the person your speaking with is a good person and wants to help, and you understand that they may not have the authority, you just need them to get you to someone who does have the authority to help.

You'd be amazed at just how far through a bureaucracy this approach will take you.  The key is don't lose your temper and don't take no for an answer.  If the person your speaking with either cannot or will not help you thank them for their help and ask to speak to there boss and just keep going up the chain till someone says yes.  Dell spends millions of dollars a year on advertising, so the $2000 or so it will probably cost them to replace your laptop is chump change by comparision, They probably spend more than that just taking their ad guys out to lunch.

Odds are pretty good if you make a big enough annoyance of yourself that eventually you'll get to a guy who has the authority to send you a new laptop and is willing to do it just to settle the matter and get you off the phone. It's all about persistence.

Now, their going to quote rules and procedures and such to you over and over again, you simply restate your position calmly and tell them that despite their normal procedures that you expect more from a major company like Dell, and that other people do as well.   The second time they quote the same spiel, tell them that you understand their position but are unwilling to accept that as an answer and ask to speak to their boss.

Lol..  I know this all seems a bit much but you'd be amazed at just how well it works.  Spend a couple of afternoons hassling Dell tech support, maybe as much as a week, and eventually odds are very very good they will cave just to get rid of you.

If the system won't boot up at all then the motherboard might indeed be fried, but if your looking to put together a good desktop system you'll find they are much cheaper and much easier to upgrade than laptops.

If your going to take the hard drive out of your laptop at some point for use with your desktop, I'd recommend purchasing an external USB drive box for it.  I've got an old 10 gig from a laptop that I put into an external USB drive box, and now I can just connect it to the USB port whenever I need a bit of space to transfer files.

The box itself cost me about $12 USD, and the drive was one I had laying around so the expense was negligible, and now I have the ability to transfer even lots of very large files easily, the box itself is small enough to fit in my shirt pocket.  Generally speaking desktop harddrives are dirt cheap by comparison to laptop harddrives, my current desktop system has 520 gigs of harddrive space so 10 gig extra by comparison is a waste of a perfectly good drive bay, but 10 gigs fo portable space can be a real godsend.  

One other thing you might want to consider would be putting the laptop you have up for sale for parts - if it's an expensive laptop you'd be surprised how much you can get for some of the various parts in the system.   Granted, you're not going to recoup all of your losses, but things like laptop screens sell fairly well on Ebay because they are hard to find elsewhere for most laptops and the manufacturers want an exhorbitant amount of money for replacement parts if you deal with them directly.   They know they have you over a barrel and price accordingly.

Ok, well first of all I wouldn't assume that it's automatically the motherboard at fault here, regardless of what Dell tech support told you.  Normally if the motherboard goes fubar the machine won't boot up at all.

First thing I would do is reformat the hard drive and reinstall the operating system.  Odds are pretty good this will fix the problem.  You may run into a situation where the hard drive doesn't want to reformat, if such is the case then odds are pretty good is your hard drive that has gone belly up, not your motherboard.

If it turns out that Dell was indeed correct (which is unlikely, however remotely possible) and a new motherboard is necessary your best bet to find a replacement will be on Ebay.  You can't just buy any old motherboard, you need to get the correct motherboard for your make and model of laptop.  Odds are good that only a very small number of motherboards were made that will fit in your laptop correctly and have all the connections in the same place, so make certain whatever motherboard you buy is for the correct make and model for your laptop.

But like I said, odds are good dell was wrong and the motherboard is fine. 

Well, considering that the movie this came from was made in 1986, and the final "sequel" was made in 1997 I seriously doubt 20th century fox is going to get themselves in a major twist over something like this, it would hardly be worth their time to sue anyone over.

If the Aliens franchise still made huge money in merchandising (such as the Star Wars or Star Trek stuff still does) then I can see them maybe getting a bit miffed, but lets be honest, not a whole lot of people would line up outside a Toy's R' Us to get the latest "Ripley" action figure if they came out with one tommorow.  

Put a new Star Wars toy on sale and you'll be hip deep in geeks dressed like Jedi's before you can snap your fingers, but this just isn't the sort of public reaction you'd get if you'd try to market a new "Corporal Hicks" halloween costume.

So while 20th Century Fox does hold the copyright on the film and said copyright doesn't technically expire until 2081, I can't imagine that they are going to get too upset over something like this, assuming they even notice in the first place.

Now, would I personally buy this item for use in work I wanted to resell?  Probably not, even though 20th Century Fox is unlikely to get too hacked off about it I still wouldn't use something like this in a commercial project, but I could see buying it for personal use.